Month: January 2013

We’ve completed another round of energy savings projects which will help reduce our carbon footprint as well as improve building comfort levels. During the autumn term, 3 significant projects have been completed in different parts of the University:

Roof insulation to the Henley Business School’s Greenlands Main House

Window draught proofing in Whiteknights House, Maths & IT and the Allen Lab

Intelligent corridor lighting sensors throughout Harry Pitt

Insulating the roof space in the beautiful Main House at Greenlands presented an interesting challenge, with many narrow entrances to the different roof cavities across the building. Now complete, the upgrade will help significantly reduce heat from escaping through the roof, saving an estimated £2,500 and 10 tCO2 annually.

Window draught proofing has made a big difference in reducing heat loss and improving comfort levels in Whiteknights House, Maths & IT and the Allen Lab, building on the previous work in HumSS and Wager earlier in 2012. Not only will this save an estimated £6,850 and 32 tC02 in gas annually, but it has helped reduce the use of costly, carbon intensive plug-in electrical heaters.

Regular visitors to Harry Pitt will have noticed the changes to the lighting arrangements in the corridors there, with sensors installed to ensure lighting automatically switches on only when it is required. We will be reviewing the savings from this project in the coming weeks with a view to investigating similar opportunities in other University buildings.

We have successfully been awarded funding by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB)’s Innovative Refurbishment Programme for energy efficiency improvements in the Students’ Union (RUSU).

Our bid was a joint effort in partnership with Carnego Systems Ltd, LCMB Ltd and Nottingham Trent University, with a focus on energy reductions through intelligent building controls and performance software, combined with engagement of building users.

Initially, we have secured funding for a design and evaluation phase, alongside receiving advice from TSB on how to better optimise the existing building controls. We will be working hard to develop a full design proposal during the coming phase for further approval by TSB, in order to implement some exciting improvements for RUSU’s energy make over.

The bid has been a combined collaboration between the Estates & Facilities Department and the School of Construction Management and Engineering. It will provide a great opportunity for the University to showcase its carbon reduction credentials and has been supported by the Association of University Directors of Estates (AUDE).